Expense reimbursement via the NTS

The one-off reimbursement for extra expenses is intended for general expenses that are not reimbursed separately. For example:

• A pyjama, bathrobe, or slippers for the hospital.
• Extra food in the hospital.
• A grocery or meal delivery service when the donor is back home.
• Parking costs when the donor has to go to the hospital for an examination.
• Parking costs of a person supporting the donor.
• A thank-you gift for, say, the neighbor who waters your plants, cares for your pet, or accepts your packages.
• Costs of medication (such as paracetamol) or other healthcare costs under €25. Have you purchased medication or incurred additional healthcare costs of more than €25? Then check ‘Reimbursement of additional healthcare costs’ below.

You do not need to send proof of payment for this. The reimbursement is a fixed amount of:

• €486 for a kidney donation
• €542 for a liver donation
• €141 if the donation did not go ahead at the last minute

Do you need this amount quickly? Please indicate this at question 2.2 on the application form. The NTS will then transfer the amount within 2 weeks. You can still apply for any other reimbursements after this.

Travel expenses for the donation, for example to go to the hospital, are reimbursed. Do you live in the Netherlands? Then those travel expenses are reimbursed by your health insurance.

Read more: Reimbursement of medical expenses

If the donor comes from abroad

Are you coming to the Netherlands from abroad to donate? Then the recipient's insurance will pay for the travel expenses and hospital stay. If you incur any further costs, this scheme offers the following reimbursements. These are intended exclusively for donors from abroad.

Expenses on days outside the hospital

As a donor, you can receive a fixed allowance for the days you are necessarily staying in the Netherlands, but are no longer admitted to the hospital. This allowance is €12 per day.

Hotel stays

Following discharge from the hospital, you sometimes need to stay in the Netherlands for a few more days. You can then receive a reimbursement for hotel stays. The reimbursement is for a maximum of 5 nights. The maximum amount is €142 per night. You must include the hotel invoice with your application.

Second trip to the Netherlands

Sometimes you have to come to the Netherlands a second time before or after the surgery. The recipient's insurance does not always cover that trip. In that case, you can receive a reimbursement for your travel expenses. This concerns the costs of the outward and return journey by boat, plane, train, or bus in the lowest class. Are you traveling by private transport? Then the reimbursement is equal to the cost of public transport in the lowest class.

Include a statement from the recipient's health insurance with this. It must state that the insurance does not reimburse this second trip. The donor must also include travel tickets if the journey was made by public transport.

Extra reimbursement for donors from outside Europe

Don't live in Europe? Then you can receive an extra reimbursement of € 128. Did you, as a donor, need new travel documents or a visa? And were those costs higher than € 128? Then you can also apply for a reimbursement for these travel documents. Proof of payment for those documents is required.

Often there is a family member or friend who supports the donor during the donation. This person may incur costs for visiting the donor in the hospital. The following reimbursements are possible for this. As a donor, you can apply for these reimbursements for multiple people, but the reimbursement is for 1 person per day.

Travel expenses within the Netherlands during the hospital stay

The loved one can receive a travel expense reimbursement for the period that the donor is in the hospital. The amount of the reimbursement depends on the travel distance between the hospital and the loved one's place of residence. If the loved one does not live in the Netherlands, the NTS looks at the travel distance between the hospital and the location in the Netherlands where the loved one is temporarily staying.

The reimbursement is:

• € 9 per day for a travel distance of less than 10 km
• € 26 per day for a travel distance of 10 to 50 km
• € 41 per day for a travel distance of 50 to 100 km
• € 54 per day for a travel distance of 100 to 150 km
• € 62 per day for a travel distance of 150 km or more

This concerns the distance of a one-way trip. You do not need to include proofs of payment.

Hotel overnight stays

Does the loved one have a long travel distance to the hospital? Then this person can stay overnight in a hotel near the hospital. You can apply for a reimbursement for this:

• A reimbursement for the loved one's hotel costs during the period that the donor is in the hospital. A maximum of € 142 per night applies to this. A maximum of 5 overnight stays may be reimbursed.
• A reimbursement for the trip between the hotel and the loved one's place of residence. This concerns a one-time reimbursement for the outbound and return journey.
• Does the loved one live abroad? Then the reimbursement is for the trip between the hotel and the loved one's temporary place of residence in the Netherlands. This concerns a one-time reimbursement for the outbound and return journey.

Include a bill from the hotel for this reimbursement. You do not need to include proofs of payment for the travel.

Travel expenses of a relative who lives abroad

Does the donor's relative live abroad? Then you, as the donor, can request compensation for:

• The travel expenses from the relative's place of residence to the temporary place of residence in the Netherlands. This concerns the costs of the outward and return journey by boat, plane, train, or bus in the lowest class. Is the relative coming by private transport? Then the compensation is equal to the cost of public transport in the lowest class.
• The costs of travel documents, a visa, or special travel insurance, if required.

Please enclose proof of payment for the travel documents with this reimbursement request. Did the travel take place by public transport? Then you must also include the transport tickets.

In the case of living donation, most medical costs are covered by the health insurance of both the recipient and the donor.

Read more: Reimbursement of medical expenses

Do you have additional medical expenses that are not covered by those insurances?

Then these may be eligible for reimbursement via the NTS scheme. These reimbursements are only intended for:

• Care during the preliminary examinations and the hospital admission.
• Care during the recovery period:
• For kidney donation: up to and including 13 weeks after discharge from the hospital.
• For liver donation: up to and including 26 weeks after discharge from the hospital.

Deductible costs (eigen risico)

The health insurer may not charge a deductible for medical costs related to the donation. Does the health insurer do so anyway? Then you can request a reimbursement for this. Please include:

• A statement from the doctor confirming that the care for the donation was medically necessary.
• A claims overview from the insurance company showing a specification of the deductible costs.

Other medical costs

Sometimes you need additional medical care as a result of the donation that is not covered by health insurance. For example, from a dietitian or physiotherapist. Reimbursement is also possible for this. Please include:

• A statement from the doctor confirming that the care for the donation was medically necessary.
• A statement from the health insurer that these costs are not covered.

Costs for household help

Do you need household help during your recovery period? And are family members or friends unable to provide that help? Then you can sometimes receive a reimbursement for paid household help. This is possible in the following cases:

• You hire household help through an official organization. The reimbursement is then a maximum of € 383. You must include the bills from this organization for this.
• You receive household help through the municipality. This concerns help under the Social Support Act (Wmo). You can request a reimbursement for the personal contribution for this. To do this, you must include the municipality's decision stating the personal contribution, as well as the bill for that personal contribution.

• You request informal household help from someone in your network. These household tasks correspond to the tasks that in practice fall under household help from the Wmo. These tasks include vacuuming, mopping, or dusting, among other things. The reimbursement for this is a maximum of € 14.50 per hour up to a maximum amount of € 383. For this reimbursement, you must include a statement from the household helper containing: name, address, and signature of the informal household helper, the period and the number of hours per day this person helped, and the reimbursement. You can find this (online) submission form here.

Informal household help provided by housemates of the donor is not covered by this scheme and will not be reimbursed. 

Download the submission form

Are you responsible for the care of a child, relative, or pet? Then temporary care is sometimes needed for the period in the hospital and during your recovery. You can apply for reimbursements for this.

• The NTS does not reimburse costs that you would incur anyway. For example, does a child always go to a daycare center 3 days a week? Or does the dog already go with a dog walking service every week? Then you will not be reimbursed for those costs.

Childcare

You can apply for a reimbursement for the care of children up to 18 years old. This reimbursement is for:

• Care in a daycare center or by a gastouder (childminder). This gastouder must be affiliated with a professional gastouder agency. For this reimbursement, you must include the bill from the daycare center or the gastouder.
• Care by, for example, a neighborhood girl, acquaintance, or other babysitter. For this reimbursement, you must include a statement from the babysitter containing: name, address, and signature of the babysitter, the period and the number of hours per day this person babysat, and the reimbursement. You can find this (online) submission form here.

The NTS reimburses a maximum of 12 hours of care per day. This involves the following amounts:

• 1 child: € 5.75 to € 8.70 per hour
• 2 children: € 8.70 to € 11.55 per hour
• 3 or more children: €11.55 to €14.40 per hour

Download the submission form

Care for adults

You can also apply for compensation for the care of someone older than 18. For example, an adult child with an intellectual disability. Or a parent with dementia. 2 conditions apply to this compensation:

• The care is necessary for medical reasons. You must include a statement from a physician confirming this.
• The care is provided by a professional organization or a self-employed person (zzp'er). The donor must include the invoice from this organization or self-employed person.

Pet care

You can also apply for compensation for the care of a pet. The following conditions apply:

• The care is provided by a professional organization, such as a dog or cat kennel or a riding school. You must include the invoice from that organization.
• It concerns the care of a companion animal, such as a dog or cat. The compensation is not intended for, for example, cows or pigs on a farm.

The compensation for missed income is intended for self-employed professionals (zzp'ers) and majority shareholders (dga's). If you are unable to work for a while as an entrepreneur due to the donor surgery, you will miss out on income.

You can apply for compensation if you are not voluntarily insured for sickness benefits through the UWV and you also do not have disability insurance.

Do you have disability insurance, but is the benefit from it lower than your average income? Then you can receive compensation for the difference. Apply for the compensation within one year of discharge from the hospital. A condition is that the loss of income is a consequence of the donation.

Read more: Preservation of income and sample calculation

The compensation for assisting partners is intended for donors who work unpaid in their partner's business. If you are unable to work for a while due to the donation, the business sometimes has to hire a replacement. That costs the business money. You can apply for this compensation for that.

The following conditions apply to this compensation:

• The donor and the owner of the business are married or registered partners. Or they have concluded a cohabitation agreement drawn up by a civil-law notary.
• The donor must include an accountant's statement showing that the donor works unpaid in the partner's business.
• The business has hired a replacement through a temporary employment or secondment agency. You must include the invoices stating what the replacement was hired for and for how many hours.